INTEGRATING GEOLOGIC-HAZARDS INFORMATION INTO BUSINESS AND PUBLIC-POLICY DECISION-MAKING: OR, HOW TO TEACH TWO PIGS TO SING

Technical and practical information about geologic hazards is critical because it ultimately will affect the effectiveness and success of both long-term and strategic business and public-policy decisions. Unfortunately, the past and present transfer of usable geologic-hazards information to business and public-policy decision-makers has, for the most part, been less than effective.

To solve this dilemma, both the geoscience and business and public-policy communities need to improve their practice. First, the geoscience community must change the way it offers, packages, and states geologic-hazards information. Second, the business and public-policy community must change the way it receives, integrates, and acts on that information.

One way for the geoscience community to begin this exchange is to proactively offer (or market!) practical, geologic-hazards information to high-level, targeted audiences via professional organizations serving the business and public-policy community. While doing this, overly technical, “geo-speak” must be avoided at all costs because it not only fails to deliver an understandable message, but it also alienates and estranges the business and public-policy community from future geologic-hazards communications. Too-technical jargon and academic details burn bridges rather than built them.

Just as important, the business and public-policy community must recognize, accept, and address geologic hazards within their organization, operations, and practice. Motivation for this may be triggered by an effective message, mode, and perspective from the geoscience community, however.

When – and only when – the geoscience community learns to effectively send and the business and public-policy community learns to effectively receive the geologic-hazards message will the real risk from geologic hazards significantly lessen within our society.